When I hear stuff like that, I generally take the hint and change the subject. But sometimes, I hear something else.

“I read what you wrote last week, and I’m so glad you said that. I was thinking the same thing!”

“You’re not seeing the whole picture. Let me tell you about what happened to me.”

“ESO. Eso que dijo al ultimo.”

My writing is about us. It’s about our lives, our families, our culture. It’s about our place in America and the world. It’s a reminder that even at times when we’re the only Spanish speaker or Mexican American or immigrant or Latino in the room, we’re not alone.

I believe that was the aim of Eva Longoria, America Ferrera and 200 other celebrities and artists who recently signed a letter of solidarity with the Latino community that was published in the New York Times and some Spanish language newspapers last week. They did it as a call for unity in response to the climate created by immigration policy, the recent shootings in El Paso and the ICE raids in Mississippi.

In a statement about the release, Longoria explained that it was a choice to join voices and speak up. “Integrity starts with looking in the mirror and this letter calls on everyone, not just our community, to choose humanity and decency over hate and violence,” the letter reads.

They are right. This isn’t famous people grandstanding, and it isn’t a political moment, not really. It’s about Latinos who, for whatever reason, happen to have a microphone, speaking up for humanity and decency. Their intention is to comfort and empower, to remind us that we are many and that we have a responsibility to speak up.